The only internal candidate who was a finalist to become Aurora’s next police chief suddenly withdrew his name from consideration Friday.
Top-ranking Aurora officials were informed by City Manager Skip Noe on Friday afternoon that Interim Deputy Police Chief Rob McGregor had taken his name out of the running.
It was unclear why McGregor withdrew his name. He could not be reached for comment.
According to a news release from the city, the remaining four finalists are:
• Fran Gomez, current Commerce City deputy police chief, who was Aurora’s first female police commander before leaving the Aurora Police Department in 2013 after 23 years. Gomez has a master’s degree in criminal justice and a bachelor’s in anthropology.
• Roy Minter Jr., police chief in Denton, Texas. Minter served 15 years in the Aurora Police Department and reached the rank of commander before leaving for Texas. Minter has a master’s degree in organizational management and a bachelor’s in business administration.
•Nicholas Metz, assistant chief for the Seattle Police Department. According to Aurora, Metz has been with the Seattle department since 1983 and has a bachelor’s degree in general studies. He also graduated from the FBI National Academy and Senior Management Institute for Police.
• Jose Bañales, assistant police chief for the San Antonio Police Department, where he has been for more than 30 years. Bañales has a master’s degree in management and leadership.
“It looks like we have some great candidates,” said Aurora City Councilwoman Barb Cleland, chairwoman of the city’s public safety committee. “It will be interesting to interview them and see what happens and how they can work to make our department and community better than they already are.”
There will be a community meeting with the finalists Friday at the Aurora Municipal Center, 15151 E. Alameda Parkway. It will run from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The was conducted by Bob Murray and Associates. The finalists were selected from a group of 34 candidates.
Former Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates to take over the reins of the Miami Beach Police Department in south Florida. Interim Aurora Police Chief Terry Jones was not interested in taking over the position on a permanent basis.
The City Council and city manager have scheduled interviews with the candidates for next week. Ultimately, Noe will be the one to decide who replaces Oates, but the council will have input.
Mark Finnin, president of the Aurora police union, said he wasn’t disappointed that there are no longer any internal candidates because Gomez and Minter were with the department for a long time.
“We have two people who are very familiar with the Aurora PD culture,” Finnin said. “As far as McGregor goes, he made a personal choice.”
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175, cillescas@denverpost.com or twitter.com/cillescasdp
